When you come out of hospital after a mental health crisis, you need the right care and support to help you recover and put your life back together. You need to feel prepared and confident you will get the support and services you need to help pick up the pieces and continue getting better. If you feel rushed and unsupported you risk becoming unwell again and going back into hospital.

Yet in our survey over a third of people said they were discharged from hospital sooner than they should have been; one in five were given no notice that they were being discharged. Two out of five people told us that staff did not plan for their ongoing care and support and one in four people said they did not receive any support at all when they left hospital.

Discharge from inpatient services

Over a thousand people used our survey to share their experiences of leaving hospital after a mental health crisis. The results were sometimes disturbing - painting a picture far removed from NICE’s recommendations.

You can read more about our findings, what NICE says should happen, and some of the good practice around England in our briefing.

We’re calling on commissioners, providers and crisis care concordat partnerships to use our briefing to review what happens in their area and ensure that everyone leaving hospital gets the right care and support.

Our campaign explained

When you leave hospital after a mental health crisis you need the right care and support to help you recover. Too many people aren't getting it.

The facts about follow-up

Planning for recovery booklet

We’ve produced a new guide, ‘Planning for recovery’, to help you take part in your own discharge and care planning, think about what you need and know what to expect. We are distributing copies to mental health trusts and boards in England and Wales, and you can also download a pdf version in English and Welsh language versions.

We need excellent crisis care

In a mental health crisis, your mind is at melting point. You can’t carry on anymore. There may be an immediate risk of self harm or suicide. You may experience extreme anxiety, have a panic attack or even a psychotic episode. It can happen to anyone.

When people’s lives come crashing down in a mental health crisis, they need help. Urgently. Only 14 per cent of people in crisis got all the help and support they needed.

That’s not acceptable: an emergency is an emergency.

Excellent crisis care exists. It can save lives. And that’s why we need it available for everyone.